Arc Raiders got a fresh set of patch notes for its 1.3.0 update this morning. The update includes a variety of changes across the board, but perhaps most important are the changes to a two-shot pistol that’s been causing havoc and devastation for anyone on the receiving end of its twin barrels. Here are all the changes impacting in-game weapons and items:
The Venator gets ‘re-tuned’ and explosions are less explosive
A blue rare gun, the Venator is a girl’s best friend as a sidearm and a seriously reliable primary weapon if you like maining pistols. That might change a bit as the gun was previously “capable of outgunning full squads using close range weapons,” according to the patch notes.
The other notable change here is that explosions have been tweaked. To be honest, I kinda saw this one coming as it’s been pretty damn easy lately to take out the larger Arc threats with things that go boom. The most significant of these changes sees the Hullcracker launcher, great for taking down Arc, requiring more accuracy, while explosions on large enemies “deal a bit less damage,” as Embark puts it.
The cost of ammo for the Hullcracker has also shifted, and arguably not for the better. Whereas you could snag a pack of 10 from the in-game traders for 6,000 Coins, you’ll now get 6 launcher ammo for 4,500.
As one comment thread on Reddit discusses, this might have the run-on effect of seeing fewer people rushing the Arc Queen as they’ll be a little less equipped, and with weaponry that requires some more careful aiming.
Embark takes aim at bugs and wall-glitching, but some issues remain
Arc Raiders’ performance is mostly reliable, but folks found some unfortunate bugs that affected bullet collision, as well as exploits that allow players to glitch into rooms that are otherwise locked.
The update brings improvements to those bullet issues on the map Blue Gate. It’s a nice start, but I know I’ve seen similar issues elsewhere, too. The patch notes detail “railing props [that] mistakenly blocked bullets” but say that “shots now pass through as expected.” Across the other maps, some other player collision issues were touched up.
Players have also been exploiting some wall-glitching, allowing them to enter locked rooms without keys or to hide in unreachable ambush spots. Dam Battlegrounds has had an exploit that allowed access to the Control Tower fixed, while a specific wall in Spaceport that players were glitching into to jump unsuspecting players will no longer allow for this.
Still, I’ve seen all sorts of locked doors bypassed by folks, not just the ones addressed by this patch. Hopefully there’ll be less of this.
But perhaps the most frustrating movement issue occurs when trying to access an escape hatch while in a downed-but-not-out status. Normally, until you’re fully knocked out, you can crawl your way to an escape as the game lets you activate the elevator or escape hatch terminals while you’re down. But as documented well in this video on Reddit, most hatches seem to sit atop a slope that can’t be climbed while crawling.
It’s hard to tell if this is intentional or an oversight. But it’s clearly been a frustrating experience for those who’ve tried to make a daring last-minute escape via a hatch, only to find out they can’t crawl over a hump.
Good news (maybe) for duck fans
Lastly, update 1.3.0 will fill your Raider’s room with more rubber ducks, letting them spill over the floor if you have enough in your stash.
It’s cute! But if you ask me, those ducks aren’t valuable enough to extract with and are otherwise too pointless for me to have them taking up room in my stash. So fear not, any rubber ducks I come across are deliberately left behind on the battlefield. You’re welcome.
